HC Deb 15 December 1943 vol 395 cc1551-3
Mr. Keeling

(by Private Notice) asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that wounded soldiers from the Italian front in hospital are being refused leave to visit their homes at Christmas even though they are walking-out cases; and whether he will extend to them the same privilege that has been granted to repatriated prisoners of war in hospital?

Mr. A. Henderson

Repatriated prisoners of war, most of whom are not hospital cases, are being granted leave to visit their homes at Christmas. These special arrangements for repatriated prisoners of war have been made because it is considered that a visit to their homes after spending a long period in the exception- ally trying conditions of a prisoner of war camp would prove particularly beneficial in their case. This consideration does not apply to the category of men mentioned in my hon. Friend's Question. The suggestion he makes has nevertheless been very carefully considered by those responsible for the care of wounded men, and I am advised that only very few of them could possibly stand the rigours of travel without risk. Most of them could not, and the concession would therefore only benefit a few fortunate ones. In the circumstances, much as I sympathise with the sentiment behind my hon. Friend's suggestion, I regret that I cannot see my way to adopting it.

Mr. Keeling

Does that mean that in the hon. and learned Gentleman's opinion it is not an exceptionally rigorous condition to be wounded, and is there any reason why men who have been wounded should be considered less deserving of sympathetic consideration at Christmas than ex-prisoners?

Mr. Henderson

I think the difficulty is that, once you start to extend the categories, you cannot stop at wounded soldiers. If you have a hospital with a number of wounded soldiers, and soldiers who are sick and have been repatriated from foreign stations, and sick stationed in this country, you will have a good deal of discontent in the hospital if you only give it to one category.

Mr. Shinwell

If there are cases of men not seriously wounded, for whom it would not be serious to travel, could not the rules be relaxed slightly?

Mr. Henderson

The difficulty arises through having them relaxed in the first case. There has always been this fixed rule. In the circumstances of the present situation we have 5,000 or 6,000 repatriated prisoners of war in this country, and the War Office felt that it was desirable that special treatment should be given to that category, but we are not desirous of extending it to other categories.

Captain Thorneycroft

Is it not a fact that the three different Service Departments adopt an entirely different attitude on the matter, and will not the hon. and learned Gentleman adapt the procedure of the War Office to that already apoted by the Admiralty and the Air Ministry?

Mr. Henderson

I am afraid I am not in a position to say what the attitude of the other Departments is. I have sufficient to do to answer for my own.

Mr. Lipson

Would it not relieve the hospital staffs, as only a few are concerned, if this reasonable concession were granted?

Colonel Arthur Evans

Is there any liaison committee between the heads of the three Services?

Mr. Speaker

That is another question.